All owner-player activities, except collective bargaining discussions, have been blocked. They have been in lockout since Thursday the second of this month, which is equivalent to a strike.
There has been no activity seeking a settlement. It is assumed that on New Years Day, they will meet to start the discussions.
The contract project presented by the businessmen is very far, economically, from what the bigleaguers aspire to. During the lockout, they can’t even sign the players ‘personal contracts, but they can sign the managers’ contracts.
It’s the first major league stoppage in 26 years since the 1994-1995 players’ strike, but the ninth since Marvin Miller’s appearance in the majors.
Miller, a former leader of the steel workers, became a leader of the Major League Baseball Players Association in 1966, and convinced players that they are very difficult to replace.
Arbitration, free agents, and the sale of television broadcasting rights made bigleaguers billionaires.
In 1972, between April 1 and 13, there was a strike. The owners refused to increase what they contribute towards the pension of retired players.
From February 8 to 25 there was no spring training in 1973, due to a lockout by the owners, due to arbitration.
During the 1976 lockout, first until March 17, the reserve clause, which players had fought for more than a century, ended.
Between April 1 and 8, 1980, there was a strike, and they opened the season without reaching an agreement on free agents.
In 1981 they canceled 712 games, between June 12 and July 31, due to new disagreements over free agents.
The pension and arbitration produced a two-day strike in 1985, August 6 and 7.
The 1990 thing was lockout, February 15 to March 18, by arbitration and free agents.
The most devastating strike has been the one in 1994-95, August 12-March 31, which cost a billion dollars, a World Series and enormous discredit in the eyes of the fans. 938 games were canceled in 232 days. The main reason was the salary cap proposed by the owners and never accepted. This stoppage would have been even longer, but the Supreme Court judge, Sonia Sotomayor, ordered the singing of play ball.
About a hundred years of struggle for the freedom of players
Judge Peter Seitz’s sentencing in December 1975 marks one of the most important steps for players. It was what eliminated the reserve clause, which condemned them to belong to the team for life or until they changed it.
The first free agents were pitchers Andy Messersmith of the Angels and Dave McNally of the Expos, so declared on March 16, 1976.
Curt Flood, a top outfielder and a hitter of 293 in 15 seasons, had challenged the reserve clause in 1972 when the Cardinals traded him to the Senators. It was not reported.
John Montgomery Ward, pitcher and infielder in the Major Leagues between 1878 and 1894 founded the first Baseball Players Union, under the name of Brotherhood of Professional Baseball Players.
A TIP
Refereeing and free agents
What has closed the agreements.
The owners ask for averages, no referee, and 29 and a half years old, not six seasons to be free.
The Big Difference 61-21
The money’s value. In 1961, the minimum wage was $ 8,000, now $ 570,500.
Why Bigleaguers Don’t Own Clubs
If the bigleaguers are as essential as Marvin Miller proved, why don’t they take the big leagues and become the owners of the business?
The answer is due to a historical fact, the Players League.
Montgomery Ward, in his quest to end the dominance of team owners, not only organized the first big league union, he also founded a player-owned Big League.
But it lasted only one season, the 1890 season, and it disappeared because the players couldn’t manage it.
The Boston Reds were champions, with a record of 81-48.
They were followed by the Brooklyn Wondermen, the New York Giants, the Chicago Pirates, the Philadelphia Athletics, the Pittsburgh Citizens, the Cleveland Infants and the Buffalo Bison.
All eight teams lost money, due to administrative deficiencies.
Since then, 131 years ago, there has been an idea that players are incapable of running their own business.
On the ball | $ 124 million from Miguel Cabrera
On the ball | Panamanian pitches like M. Rivera
